Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn Review

Bruce Campbell Returns as Ash to Fight the Ancient Evil

Sep 20, 2008

With director Sam Raimi re-telling the Evil Dead in this genre-shifting sequel, we are given one of the all-time movie greats alongside one of movies' greatest heroes.

Although ostensibly a re-make of the first, Raimi suggests that it could be a direct sequel, with Ash being stupid enough to take a second girlfriend to the same isolated cabin (which is clearly not true, because Ash has no prior knowledge of the ‘Book of the Dead’, but is funny nonetheless).

And so when the evil ‘force’ is summoned once again, Ash (Bruce Campbell, if you haven’t been paying attention) must fight for his life and his sanity against possessed girlfriend Linda (Denise Bixler).

He is later joined by Professor’s daughter Annie (Sarah Berry) and co-worker Ed (Richard Domeier) who arrive with missing pages of the book. They are lead to the cabin by two locals, Jake and Bobby Joe (Dan Hicks and Kassie Wesley), and are immediately drawn into the ‘horror’.

The Evil Dead 2 Summary

Make no mistake, while the horror elements are here, they are almost exclusively subservient to the fact that this film is a comedy – a unique transition that would be completed with the third installment, Army of Darkness.

It’s not three minutes into the film when Bruce is hamming it up so much that any thought of this being a serious attempt at horror – or film - should be discarded. It’s barely six minutes before Linda is possessed and Ash decapitates her with a shovel. As Stan Lee would say, “‘Nuff said”.

The fact that Raimi abandoned a conventional beginning, throwing us into the action at 100 miles an hour, is cinematic genius. The storytelling that usually comes attached to any serious film can be automatically left behind here, allowing for maximum use of the film’s short running time.

That is not to say that everyone involved didn’t work tremendously hard, enduring all manner of physical and mental abuse, because they clearly did.

This is comedy-horror at it’s greatest, achieving everything that it sets out to achieve…and then some (if giving an unstoppable, omnipresent entity the slip by dashing behind a door isn’t funny, then nothing is). In it’s own special way, this film is as perfect as they come and is by far the best of the Evil Dead trilogy.

The Evil Dead 2 Cast

As with the first film, there are only five major actors (six with Linda’s brief contributions and seven counting a young Ted Raimi as the possessed Henrietta).

The four actors beside Campbell are better qualified and informed on what’s needed from them and are a great asset to the film. Sarah Berry as Annie is especially fitted to her role and becomes quite the sidekick for our hero as she unwittingly stabs and tortures a man in one of the film’s funniest scenes.

Bruce Campbell as Ash – The Legend is Born

Fans of Bruce Campbell and the character of Ash may try to identify precisely when the Ash that is loved by so many was born.

Is it when he fights the chainsaw wielding deadite in the shed or somewhere in the not-so-subtle degrees of his decline into madness? Maybe. Or is Ash born as he lops off his own hand with the tool that would replace it, while maniacally screaming, “Who’s laughing now?!”. Most likely.

What can be said for sure is that by the time we’re watching him fashion his infamous ‘chainsaw-hand’ and toting a sawn-off shotgun, our Ash has become the man he was meant to be. It is confirmed by his first word: Groovy.

Of course, his torment continues at the hands of Raimi, but Ash – and probably Bruce right alongside – is ready to fight back. Ash is transformed into part-man, part-chainsaw, with a quickfire line for every occasion and, of course, a shotgun. He is, however, still prone to bouts of extreme foolishness.

True thespians of the art would no doubt turn their noses up at the level of ‘acting’ required of Bruce Campbell in this film. Partaking in a film such as this would be incredibly undignifying and a form of artistic suicide from which they might never recover. They may, after all, be right, but they may also never accomplish themselves what Bruce did in this film.

No one – but no one – who has lived since the dawn of theatre more than 2500 years ago, could have created a better Ash than Bruce Campbell. That statement should need no further justification beyond watching the film.

Sam Raimi’s Masterpiece

Guillermo Del Toro has Pan’s Labyrinth, Ang Lee has Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Katsuhiro Otomo has Akira, etc. Sam Raimi has Evil Dead 2 – he may make superior films, but he’ll be extremely hard-pressed to make a more enjoyable one.

Raimi’s use of everything available to a director is superb, from the lay of the cabin to the dramatic lighting, from a room full of laughing props to total silence and the use of the camera (and actors) to pull off gags that would otherwise not be so hilarious.

Raimi’s brand of horror-comedy has not been surpassed since he made this film.

A special mention must also go to the unsung hero - Theodore Raimi. Sam’s younger brother is the only person in this film that suffered more than Bruce, hidden under the layers of a gruesome full-body suit. Here’s to Ted’s dedication to what must have been a highly unpleasant experience.

In Closing

Simply put, Evil Dead 2 is a must-see for any film fan, irrespective of whichever genre you prefer. If flying eyeballs, possessed hands, torrents of fake blood and timeless characters are not your thing, then you’ll be missing out.

If it is, then watching this film for the first time or the tenth time will endlessly entertain.

The copyright of the article Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn Review in Horror Films is owned by Michael Pantazi. Permission to republish Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.